Question

If I have 5.6 liters of gas in a piston at a pressure of 1.5 atm and compress the gas until its volume is 4.8 L, what will the new pressure inside the piston be?

Answer 1

`P_2=1.75*atm.........`

Explanation:

At constant `T`, `P_1V_1=P_2V_2`.......

We solve for `P_2=(P_1V_1)/V_2`, and clearly the `"RHS"` will have the required units of pressure:

`P_2=(1.5*atmxx5.6*L)/(4.8*L)=1.75*atm`

That `P_2>P_1` is quite reasonable, because we are compressing the piston.